2017/2018 CANADIAN ROCKIES THREAD

[dufferdan]

Earlier start is better. Pano-dude had a good point. Check the BCAA and AMA websites for road closures, though the BCAA is more pertinent for where closures will be:

http://www.drivebc.ca/mobile/pub/eve...yMountain.html

The key is leave loads (hours) of extra time to get where you are going. Most delays are likely to be west of Field BC. While there arent always closures, there is some risk. I have been caught in a few. One important point is don’t try and rush. Semi-trucks going downhill will travel about as fast as they would if going uphill, in order to maintain control. Most of the highway west of Field is downhill and therefore single lane until you get close toe the Golden Flyover. Idiots will try to pass on downhills, don’t get sucked in. There are a few areas of broken line passing and passing lanes heading west but few and far between. If conditions are sktchy, I just put my head into slow mode and add 45 minutes to my allotted time.

As example, last Friday, two days after a storm, I was driving 93 South to Radium and our place in Pano. Normally a 3.5 hour winter drive, we were a little over 4 in total.

Load up on windshield washer fluid as well. If warm, the spray will be bad.

Edit to add: 93 South from Castle Junction to Radium can close occasionally, however I have been stopped on that route less than on #1.
The usual area for closure on 93 is around the Kootenay crossing area, give or take, where a couple of long avvy chutes can reach the highway. If a big storm rolls through, they will fire a few howitzer shells in there.

Just checking Enviro Cda forecast for Yoho. Didn’t look too bad. Especially if driving Friday. Saturday flurries expected.

Have an awesome trip. Send pics!

[robnow]

Bummer...this weekend's storms losing steam

[brraaap802]

Re the highways, I had to drive through Fernie to get to Kicking Horse last Thursday. I’ve only had to do that a couple Times in my 10 years there when both radium and hwy 1/ kicking horse pass closed. It’s not ideal but you can make it work if you have to.

[Ignatius]

Very helpful info. Thank you all!

I guess we'll try to keep it flexible, with an eye on weather, and will hope for the best on roads.

[Dr.Evil]

Puking in Fernie right now. I actually had a white knuckle drive from the ski hil into town.

[gramboh]

Good point. This thread is lacking in vid/pics. Here's a recent vid from the shine with a few pow clips from before the most recent storm. I'll post more later.

Awesome vid! Those blower turns on the Shoulder... great stoke.

[garyfromterrace]

Puking in Fernie right now. I actually had a white knuckle drive from the ski hil into town.

Fucking A! Heading there for the weekend if you'd like to hook up for a lap or 2. May tour Monday, any recommendations? Been BC skiing for 25yrs but only played a couple of days below the Thunder Meadows hut in the Fernie zone.

[jetski]

Busy day at Marmot Basin as usual. Hiked the peak for these turns and they stayed untouched for 3 hours when I left. Pretty awesome to be able to see your tracks all day,

Eagle Ridge on my way to Eagles East looking towards the Knob Chair. If you squint you might be able to see my line...

[TahoeJ]

Very helpful info. Thank you all!

I guess we'll try to keep it flexible, with an eye on weather, and will hope for the best on roads.

I drove from Calgary to Revelstoke last night. Light storm most of the way and only one lane plowed in each direction even when there were passing lanes or more lanes. As suggested earlier, going from Calgary to Golden is much easier than Golden to Revelstoke. I definitely needed to consume a couple of beers when I finally got to Revelstoke! Haha. Granted, I left my house for the airport at 4am that morning so I was pretty fried.

[hercule33]

I drove from Calgary to Revelstoke last night. Light storm most of the way and only one lane plowed in each direction even when there were passing lanes or more lanes. As suggested earlier, going from Calgary to Golden is much easier than Golden to Revelstoke. I definitely needed to consume a couple of beers when I finally got to Revelstoke! Haha. Granted, I left my house for the airport at 4am that morning so I was pretty fried.

That’s a long drive. Glad you got there safe. Enjoy the snow and post some pics.

[TahoeJ]

Revelstoke slack country. Crazy how much terrain can be accessed here from one gondy and two lifts...

[el hefe]

^^^^ not in the rockies. Please see the current "kootenay" debate in interior thread.....

[brraaap802]

Revelstoke slack country. Crazy how much terrain can be accessed here from one gondy and two lifts...

Have a great trip in our backyard ! One of the U.S. kids I rode up with at the Kicking Horse Freeride comp said they have basically no snow at Tahoe right now.

[Dr.Evil]

25cm since this morning in Fernie, you can still feel the rain crust here and there, but otherwise the skiing is acceptable.

[Dr.Evil]

Fucking A! Heading there for the weekend if you'd like to hook up for a lap or 2. May tour Monday, any recommendations? Been BC skiing for 25yrs but only played a couple of days below the Thunder Meadows hut in the Fernie zone.

Working on Saturday, and on kid duty on Sunday. I'm not the best person to talk to about touring, I think most people head to Harvey Pass to tour. Team Dirt would be a better person to ask.

[robnow]

Working on Saturday, and on kid duty on Sunday. I'm not the best person to talk to about touring, I think most people head to Harvey Pass to tour. Team Dirt would be a better person to ask.

TD's south of the equator now I believe.

I've thought Lost Boys area has been excellent for slack country touring, easy to get to, all high, and sustained vertical.

[TahoeJ]

^^^^ not in the rockies. Please see the current "kootenay" debate in interior thread.....

Yeah, the thread split is very confusing for us Americans... I mean, is Revelstoke really that Southern from an overall resort perspective? (Maybe it is, WTH do I know?)

[DougW]

Technically Revie and KH are not in the Rockies as Canada defines them but in the Columbia mountains. But as KH is Calgary area its in with the Rockies. The town of Golden is right on the dividing line between the Rockies and Columbias .

[TahoeJ]

Yeah, to be fair we have separate Tahoe and Mammoth / Eastern Sierra threads as well even though it’s all in the same range. So makes sense.

[Eldo]

36 new at Kimberley. We've been in the crosshairs of a couple of storms this winter.

[pano-dude]

Pano got none of that, under 5cms....
Busy as it gets though.

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk

[brraaap802]

36 new at Kimberley. We've been in the crosshairs of a couple of storms this winter.

Almost fell off my chair when I read that- heading there this Thursday for a junior comp

[brraaap802]

Kicking Horse skiing great right now, hopefully less crowds tomorrow !

[TahoeJ]

10-12cm at KHMR... deeper In windblown pockets. Walked up to the gondy just before 8:30 - they opened a half hour early because of the holiday - and caught the first one and got 2 laps in before any lines formed. Shit show after that. Damn chilly but fun...

[robnow]

Fernie has been brilliant the last two days with it snowing all day Saturday and even though the overnight snowfall forecast didn't transpire, the wind worked flawlessly in filling everything in today and providing a nice supportive layer from the rain crust below. Bomber hero snow!!!

My question to the collective is where are the crowds this year? This season I've been back in the resort (KH, Fernie, LL, SV) a lot more than the last few years and what has surprised me is the lack of competition for the good stuff. Is it just me because it seems like its been easy pickings all season with sustained all day quality goods, i.e. last two days of Family Day weekend Fernie skiing fresh lines on the same aspect bell-bell, no secret spot, easy enough to get to. Christmas-New Years I understand because it was damn cold but I mean this season has been firing (with some abnormalities of course) since then.

Are the hard core skiers gone? Is it only punter tourists that can afford to ski now and everybody else has escaped to the backcountry?